Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) sought to speed adoption of open source 5G infrastructure, teaming with Intel on a new software initiative which aims to solve complexity issues associated with using multiple network vendors.

In a statement, HPE said its Open Distributed Infrastructure Management (ODIM) initiative will provide “infrastructure manageability code” to the open source community, to enable vendor-neutral configuration and management of compute, storage and other infrastructure.

Claus Pedersen, VP of Telco Infrastructure Solutions, explained the move addresses scalability and cost issues associated with multi-vendor 5G and edge computing deployments by enabling “centralised deployment of standards-based fault and configuration management, and the aggregation of resource-specific status information”.

The company plans to launch a commercial version of its ODIM code this quarter, but noted it will also be made publicly available through a new Linux Foundation project HPE plans to initiate alongside Intel.

In addition to Intel, HPE said the project is backed by partners including AMI, Apstra, IBM’s Red Hat unit, Tech Mahindra and World Wide Technology.

Big push
The move follows HPE’s debut of a new cloud-native 5G core product last month, and comes as the company pushes for adoption of open source network infrastructure.

Phil Mottram, VP and GM at HPE Communications and Media Solutions, told Mobile World Live in a recent interview the company made the case for open source 5G in a meeting with US officials on 2 March.

During what Mottram characterised as a “very positive” discussion, he said officials sought information on hurdles to adopting open source and what the government might be able to do to help overcome those.

The company is just one of several reportedly consulting with the White House on 5G, as the government looks for ways to reduce the country’s reliance on Chinese equipment.